HotD: Chicago
by AnimeNinja33
Summary: The zombie infestation has spread to America, and a group of Highschoolers from Chicago must work together to survive. ((Full OC cast and a better summery coming soon))
1. Highschool of the Dead

Markus Lane smiled to himself as he looked around the soccer field. It was almost time for lunch and he couldn't wait to see his little sister before she went to class. Today was her birthday, and though he was waiting to give her his gift he wanted to see if anyone else had remembered. Unlike him, Kestryle wasn't very popular.

He looked down at his watch for the thousandth time and saw that there was still ten minutes left until lunches switched. He had 3rd lunch, meaning that he ate after his class was over, and Kestryle had 2nd, meaning she got a break in the middle of class to go eat. The two groups got to briefly see each other as they switched. Another glance at his watch showed that a mere 30 seconds had passed.

"Lane!" Coach called, waving to get Markus's attention from across the field. "What's going on over there?" He pointed to the school gate, a bit to the left of where Markus had been looking.

Markus looked and saw what looked like a drunk person stumbling up to the school gate. The road was blocked, but the drunk man kept bumping into the barrier. The security guard started yelling something and got out of his hut.

"Looks like some drunk guy, Coach." Markus said, now that the Coach had gotten closer.

The older man nodded. "Huh... It looks like Murph is having trouble with that guy. Tell the other students to pack up and get inside. You guys are out of class early." Markus nodded and went to tell his class mates who greeted the news with enthusiasm. With this extra time he could not only visit his sister, he could spend some time with his girlfriend Lauren before she went to class too. Since her class was on the far side of the school, he rarely got to see her during lunch and he was looking forward to surprising her.

He only got a few steps towards the school when he realized he left his back pack under a bench, but the small gap in time was enough to show him a nightmare when he turned around. At the gate, Murph was laying on the ground and the drunk man was shuffling towards the Coach. Coach punched the man and knocked him over and turned to go to the small Security Guard's hut when Murph stood up and attacked him from behind, biting into the man's neck until Markus saw blood. Lots of blood. No one could have survived that... but a few seconds later, Coach stood up again and the three men started to shuffle towards the school.

His mind flew into a panic. This couldn't be happening it was like something out of those screwed up zombie flicks Kain liked so much. He stood there stupidly for a long moment, then ran to the school, his school bag forgotten. It's not like it had anything important in it, just his math text book and some notebooks. He tore through the halls, ignoring the people who greeted him as he ran past. Maybe he should have warned them, or said something, but his mind was focused on one thing: Get Kestryle to safety.

She was exactly where he'd known she'd be: Her favorite secluded table in the second floor library surrounded by books. No one else was in the large library, not even the librarian. The old woman had probably left Kes in charge while she ran an errand yet again.

"We need to go." He said without preamble.

His sister turned her violet eyes up to him. Her long midnight hair framed her face and the curious look it held. As far as looks went, the two had little in common. Markus had light brown hair he kept shaggy and bright green eyes. He always had a tan from his soccer games while his sister's skin rarely ever saw sunlight. He was tall and athletic; she was thin and willowy. Their eyes met for only a second before Kes nodded and started to shove books into her back packs.

"We don't have time for that sis. People just got killed at the front gate." Markus urged, grabbing his sister's other back pack. She was the only kid he knew who needed multiple back packs for high school.

"If that's so, then this is necessary." She didn't look up from her work as she shoved several books into the two bags. In all, Markus thought she'd grabbed almost fifty books, though it had only taken her a few seconds to pack everything away. She slipped one bag onto her own slim shoulders and Markus did the same with the bag she'd given him, though the weight almost made him fall backwards. "The back stair well will be best for a quick escape. Do the teachers know?"

"Not yet." Markus said, leading the way to the stairs. "Though it won't be long."

"I think you should tell me more about the attack at the gate." Kes said, prying the door open.

"Right." Markus started to descend the stairs. "It's like some bad horror movie. Some drunk bit the Coach and then... Lauren?" Markus stopped and looked down at his girlfriend, confused. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was... on my way to the library. I've got this history home work I was hopping Kes could help me and Bradly out with." Lauren said, smiling though the expression was a bit off. Markus nodded as if that made sense, though Kes narrowed her eyes in suspicion. The girl's pants were still unbuttoned... and when Bradly walked out from under the stairs his shirt was backwards.

"Lauren..." Kes began angrily, but she was cut off by the school's intercom crackling to life. "Attention all students, you are to report to your current teacher at once. We are under code red. The school will be evacuated. If you drove yourself to school today, check with your current teacher for instructions. I repeat, all students..." The sound of a door being thrown open echoed over the speaker. "You can't be in here, get out at once!" The principal ordered. Someone breathing heavily got closer to the microphone and the principal started to scream. It got louder and louder... then silence. Nothing in the school seemed to move. A minuet later, a second heavy breathing joined the first and it made a sickeningly wet sound. Then the screaming started.

It seemed to come from everywhere at once, filling the school as doors burst open and the halls were filled.

"We need to get out of the stairway." Kes said, putting her book bag in her hands like a shield.

"Right. We'll have to run past the cafeteria to get to the parking lot." Markus copied his sister, then opened the door and ran into the hall. For now this one was mostly empty. The only rooms on this hall were some bathrooms and storage closets. At the far end though, Markus could already see students running in panic. One student tripped and fell, and three... things fell on her. They were students but... they were hurt, bleeding from wounds all over their bodies. One student was missing most of his neck. Behind him, Markus heard Kes gasp and knew she was fighting nausea. Lauren was sobbing.

It was that sound that drew their attention. The three from before and now their victim, who was missing the better part of his left arm and his cheek, shuffled towards Markus. He stood there paralyzed with fear. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't happening! They were only a few feet away now...

"Do something dumb ass!" Lauren screeched.

Instinctively Markus swung the heavy book-filled bag, shoving one of the creatures to the side. Kes rushed forward and knocked over a second, then swung her back to topple the third. Bradly rushed forward and knocked the last into the wall.

"GO!" Markus ordered, rushing forward. The three others followed him and the found the next part of the hall nearly empty. There was one more of the creatures who had once been students, but one swing of the heavy bag knocked it aside. It started to shuffle after them, but a scream in the distance pulled it's attention away from them.

How was this happening? How had so many people been changed this quickly? It had only been five or ten minutes since he'd seen that drunk man at the gate... no, not a drunk, a zombie. One of Them.

"Look out!" Lauren screeched, drawing the full attention of the twenty or so things she'd been trying to warn the group about. To many to fight off and they were blocking the only path to the parking lot.

"Into the kitchen!" Kes commanded.

Markus nodded, though the situation inside wasn't much better. Now they had the attention of nearly fifty of the things. "Shit... shit!"

"We can't fight this many!" Bradly yelled, kicking one of the creatures that was moving faster than the others. It fell, but got right back up. "Shit, we're going to die!"

"No. Just get to the kitchen." Kes said firmly.

"You better have a plan sis." Markus said, jumping over a table and helping Lauren over. Kes just nodded as she jumped to join them.

"Bradly, hurry!" Lauren grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him out of danger. They ran into the kitchen and Kes lead the group past the line where food still sat ready to be picked up. The staff had cleared out, but the mass behind them wasn't far behind.

"Get in." Kes said, pulling open the walk in fridge's large metal door.

"Sis you're brilliant!" Markus said, pushing her in first. At some point two other people had joined the group, one boy and one girl, and judging by the food stains on the boy's shirt they had probably joined in only a few minutes ago. "Get in!" he urged. Once all five students were inside, Markus joined them and closed the door.

The walls of the walk in were solid and would hold against the mass until they moved on, but the door was a different matter. Designed to never lock people in, the door could be pulled open if one of the creatures grabbed hold of the handle. They needed something...

"Use your belt." Kes said, taking hold of the knob and handle that this side of the door used. "You can loop it through the handle and the built in shelves. That should keep the door closed. Badly, do you have a belt?" When the football player shook his head, Kes turned to the two newcomers. "What about you guys?"

The new boy nodded and got to work freeing his cloth belt as Markus got to work tying the belt into place. They could hear the hoard banging against the door, but with the new belts to secure the door closed the group began to relax.

Kes sat against the back wall, her two bags on either side of her. Markus suspected she was cuddling up to them for warmth. Inside the fridge was cold after all. Lauren was sitting a bit away from Kes and sobbing while Bradly tried to comfort her. The two new kids were cuddled up to each other, still holding onto broken and bloody lunch trays.

"You can put those down for now." Markus said, trying for his usual warm smile. It failed, but the girl at least put her tray down. "I'm Markus, a senior. This is Kestryle, my little sister. That one's Lauren and the boy next to her is Bradly. Who are you too?"

The boy took a deep breath to calm himself, then a second. "Justin." He said, his voice only shaking a little bit. "My name is Justin. This is Samantha, my girl friend. I'm in the art club."

"I'm on the Soccer team." Markus said, joining Lauren and putting an arm around her. The girl sobbed quietly into his chest.

"I know." Samantha said, smiling weakly. "You're the captain of the varsity team. And Bradly's on the football team."

"That's right." Markus said, trying to ignore the banging and scraping against the door. "I don't think I've met you before though?"

"No, but I'm on yearbook staff." Sam said, huddling closer to Justin.

Now that things had calmed down a bit, Markus took the chance to take a good look at the group. Kes seemed OK, though her hands were trembling slightly. He knew his sister was probably scared, though she wouldn't appreciate anyone trying to comfort her right now. Lauren was in much the same condition, though her high pony tail had slipped so her golden brown hair fell around her in long waves. She was still sobbing, so he held her a bit tighter and tried to fix her hair for her. Bradly just sat there like a lump of typical jock mussel.

The two newcomers were in worse condition. Sam's shirt had one sleeve torn to shreds and her clothes were dappled in blood. Her dark brown hair fell down her back, revealing haunted hazel eyes in a worried face. Justin had light brown curly hair that he wore a bit shaggy and his blue eyes flicked from person to person.

"Why are you guys being so damned calm about this?!" Lauren demanded, raising her head to glare at everyone, even Markus. "We're about to die!"

"No we won't." Kes said, her voice not trembling at all. "They can't get in."

"So, what? We stay in here forever?"

"No."

"Then what? What's your grand plan?"

"Markus said it was like something out of a movie." Kes said simply. "And since that's the only reference we have, we can assume they will eventually hear some other noise that will draw them away. We just have to wait for that to happen. Failing that, I'm sure there's something in here we can use for weapons."

"How can you be so fucking calm about this?!" Bradly demanded, turning on Kes along with Lauren. "Fuckin' emotionless bitch!"

Markus hit the taller boy before Kes could respond and the two glared at each other.

"Just calm down." Justin said, standing to get between the two.

"It's fine, Markus. Sit back down, both of you." Kes said, flinching slightly as the things outside attacked the door with a seemingly renewed vigor. "We just need to calm down and think-"

"OH for fucks sake!" Bradly glared at Kes, though he didn't move from his spot on the wall. "You really expect us to sit here while those things are at the door!? We should attack, bust our way through them and get the hell out of here."

"If you want to, be my guest." Markus said, glaring. "But I won't let you back in. Try to show some gratitude; if Kes hadn't brought us here we'd already be dead by now."

Bradly cursed and backed down. It was another five minutes before Samantha asked. "What's the plan after we get out of here?"

"I don't know." Markus said with a sigh. "I guess... I'm headed to the lake after this."

"We should get our parents first. Make sure they are alright." Kes said, though Markus shook his head. "Why not?"

"They're already at the lake." He explained. "They went this morning when we left for school to set up camp there. We were going to spend the weekend there for your birthday."

"Oh..." Kes looked down. She'd forgotten that she turned 17 today in all the commotion. Under normal circumstances, the trip to the lake would have thrilled her; there were few things she loved more than taking a boat out on the water and reading as the waves lapped against her. But today... If her parents were at the lake, maybe they were ok. Maybe this wasn't happening were they were, though the odds of that were very slim, and even if it was, they could go out on the lake. These things probably couldn't swim... right?

"Yeah. It was supposed to be a surprise."

"Well, happy birthday." Justin said, smiling a bit. When Kestryle didn't respond his smile faltered and fell.

"What about your families?" Markus asked. "We can look for them in town. Maybe this hasn't gotten into Chicago yet."

"My dad's on a hunting trip, and my mom's in New York for business." Justin said.

"My dad lives a few miles from here." Sam said.

"And your mom?" Markus said, standing to look for something he could use as a weapon.

"She's dead."

"I'm sorry, Sam..."

"It's fine." The girl smiled at him, then turned to Lauren. "What about your folks?"

"They live about ten miles from here, deeper into the city." Lauren said. "I... I don't really think... If it's gotten into the city I don't think we'll find them."

Markus nodded and looked to Bradly. "and you?"

"My parents work here. I haven't seen them, but if we're ok, they should be too, right?"

"Right." Markus said, nodding. "We'll go to town and see if we can find everyone's family, then go to the lake to find ours."

Everyone nodded, the plan set. Now, to wait for Them to leave...


	2. The Dead Devided

"Fuck it's cold!" Lauren groaned for the tenth time. The group huddled in the school's walk in fridge, waiting for their chance to escape. Outside, they could hear the zombies milling around. Every so often one would rediscover their door and keep the group trapped inside the fridge. The temperature inside hovered around 42 degrees, and no one had planned to spend the warm spring day trapped and freezing.

"Then join us." Sam said, offering her hand. The girl's long brown hair covered her back and shoulders, keeping the warmth in. To her right, Justin pressed against her, doing everything he could to keep her warm. To Sam's right, Kes was doing her part to keep everyone warm as she planned their next move.

"How about no?" The older girl sneered. "I'd rather freeze than get geek on me." She hugged herself and glared at Markus and Bradly. The two boys were standing guard at the door with two metal poles for safety rather than wrapping around her and keeping Lauren warm.

"Then stop complaining." Kes said without looking up. Lauren was about to snap at her when Kes stood and nodded. "I think it should be clear soon. We should get ready."

"You don't have to risk this." Markus said. "You and Sam are small enough to get into the vents." He adjusted the grip on his pipe, already knowing his sister's reply. She didn't have to say a word: she would never leave him behind.

"Yeah, let your little sister run off while we're stuck here. You've always been like that." Lauren scoffed. "Kes this and Kes that..." Her voice was pitched to low for anyone to hear, or so she'd thought. Bradly gave her a knowing look before turning back to the door.

"Are you ready?" Markus asked, looking around the room. "It's gotten quiet again. I think it's our best shot."

The others in the room stood up, grabbing what they could. Kes held one of her book-filled back packs like a shield. The other was given to Sam, who held her back back the same way. There hadn't been much food they could safely take with them or eat, but there had been lots of frozen food. Justin had looked through them and held a box of frozen burger patties, ready to throw. Lauren had a simple lunch tray, but it had worked for Sam and Justin, so she hoped it would work for her too.

Markus and Bradly tightened their grip on their metal pipes and opened the door. Markus went out first, ready to kick the door closed if they got attacked.

But the kitchen was empty. The lunchroom beyond had only a few of the walking dead remaining. He nodded to the rest of the group and they filed out.

Sam sighed in relief as the warm air hit her skin, and she could only imagine how good it felt to the others. Well, save for Markus and Bradly. They were still holding onto very cold metal pipes after all.

Markus waved the group forward and into the lunchroom proper. There were thirty or so of them in the large room. Markus lifted his pipe to defend the group but no attack came. Curious he looked at the five people behind him. He wasn't just seeing things... was he? His confused expression was mirrored in the faces of his companions, so he hadn't gone mad at least.

"Justin." Kes whispered, her voice barely reaching the boy's ears, even though he was only a few feet away. "Throw a burger at the wall, in there." She pointed at the far wall where a cheery picture of some famous athlete hung on the wall. He had a milk mustache with the words 'Got milk?' under him.

"You want me to hit the Shaun White poster?" He asked, his voice a bit to loud. Kes glared at him and the closest zombie turned in their direction, slowly stumbling towards the group. Kes nodded and motioned for him to do it quickly as Markus lifted his pole to attack. Justin nodded and sent the frozen meat flying.

It slammed into the poster, hitting White between the eyes. The sound echoed around the room and almost as one all of the zombies turned to the sound and began to shuffle forward.

Kes stepped forward and put her hand on her brother's arm. He flinched and turned to her, but she just nodded to him that they should go now. He nodded back and Justin moved forward to stand with him. Would that work on other groups too? They all hoped so...

They made it across the lunchroom and into the hall without any problems. To make sure that group couldn't come after them, Markus grabbed a few fallen back packs and pushed them against the door. He found two empty ones and gave them to Lauren. She accepted them with a tight nod, eyes darting everywhere.

There were distant screams, though far less than before the group had hidden themselves away. Blood filled the hall and bit of red goo no one cared to identify lay strewn everywhere. The air now had strange scents to it. The low metallic smell, like old wet pennies was blood. Most knew the smell from biology class. Body Oder and less pleasant smells mixed with it. It smelled like the gym bathroom when the toilets were broken and wouldn't flush. More than a few people had apparently lost control of their bowls during the attack.

The smell no one recognized was the vial bitter stench of rotting meat, intestines, and infection. The hints of that smell made Kes gag and Sam nearly fainted. Markus turned green.

They couldn't stop. The longer they stayed, the lower their odds of survival became and though no one said it, they all knew it was true.

The parking lot wasn't to much farther. Down this hall, passing the science wing and the upper gym entrance, then down the stairs and out the set of glass doors. Easy.

It should have been anyway.

As they were passing the science wing, four zombies rushed forward, knocking over several lockers as they did so. The group was split. Lauren Justin and Markus looked back in horror as Sam Kes and Bradly were trapped behind the metal with the new group. It was small, but there was no way that noise had gone unheard.

"Shit, Kes!"

"I'm fine Markus." She said, her voice still calm. "Go. We'll find our way around through the Science wing."

"Hell no." Markus said, trying to climb over the fallen lockers. "I won't leave you guys."

"Lauren." Kes lifted her books to shove aside one of the group. Bradly turned his pipe and broke the thing's head open, shaking as he did so. He didn't look at it long; Sam squeaked and he jumped to her defense. "Make Markus leave. We'll be fine."

"Fine." Lauren grabbed Markus and pulled him back even as the locker he'd been standing on threatened to toss him. "Hey... Come back in one piece. We'll meet you in the parking lot." Lauren turned, pulling Markus along with him.

Justin bit his lip. "Sam, come back to me, OK? Promise me."

Sam nodded, forcing herself to look away from the body at her feet. She'd known that girl... Amy Roth. They'd had math together... "I will." She said, not caring that she was crying openly. "I'll always come back to you Justin. I love you."

"I love you too Samantha." Justin nodded once and turned to fallow Markus and Lauren. If his eyes were overly wet, he didn't let it bother him. "Will they really be alright?" He looked back once, but Kes Sam and Bradly were already gone.

"They have to be." Markus said, glaring ahead. How could Lauren pull him away like that? How could Kes have asked her to? But he couldn't go back... The others were already gone and who knew how many of Them were on this side of the blockage, drawn by the crash.

The answer came soon in the form of a large heard of the undead. Justin tried to draw them away with several thrown meat patties, but only a small portion fallowed that sound. Markus grit his teeth and readied the pipe for battle. The cold metal bit into his hands. Even now the metal was almost to cold to hold but it was the only way he could protect those he loved; Lauren and Kes, he had to keep them safe. Justin and Sam too. Even Bradly, though something about him and Lauren seemed off...

The metal struck home, making one enemy after another fall. He knew almost all of them... Casey, the cheerleader and one of Lauren's best friends. Jacob the weight lifter, Rob the gay guy that loved to sew... All fell under his pipe simply because he couldn't afford to die. 'They are not people anymore...' He thought to himself as their blood and other things fell on him. 'They are not alive anymore. They are not people anymore!'

He was going to make it out of this. He would keep Lauren safe and bring Justin back to Sam. Justin seemed to have similar thoughts. He had a hard glint in his eye as the threw frozen patties at the zombie's heads. When he was out of that he found a broken broom on the floor and joined Markus in the fight. A distant sound, something from far outside of the school, grabbed the zombies attention, making most retreat and leave the hall way.

Panting, Justin and Markus shared a look.

"That was an explosion... wasn't it?" Lauren asked, her voice soft and fragile sounding in the silence.

"Yes... but what blew up?"

No one had an answer, but Markus hadn't really expected one. "Let's go. That should have cleared most of our path."

They made it outside without much trouble, but it soon became apparent that Markus wasn't taking his Toyota anywhere.

The parking lot was in shambles; most of the cars had crashed or been crashed into. A few were driven into the treeline around the lot. Here and there one of Them that hadn't been drawn by the explosion wandered, bumping into cars.

Some of the cars were even flipped over, as was the case of the lovely blue beetle that was parked upside down on Markus's Toyota. "See if any of the non-crashed cars have their keys in them still. Maybe in the ignition or in the visors."

Justin nodded and he and Lauren took the left side of the lot while Markus took the right. Markus turned up nothing, but Lauren found a truck that would still run. It was a little dented, but the car that had run into it did minor damage to the large Truck's bed.

"Nice. Any sign of the others?"

"Not yet, Markus." Justin said, eying the school. "But there are still a lot of Them in there.. You can see them in the windows." His voice shook with worry and Markus knew it was taking all of Justin's will power not to run back into the building and find his love.

"OK." Lauren got into the truck, claiming the small back seat, which folded down from the side, as her own. There was only one, so the truck could only hold three people in the cab. Four if someone sat in the floor. The others would have to ride in the bed when they got here then. "We give them five minuets, then we have to go. Those things won't stay gone for long."

"We're not leaving them." Markus and Justin said at the same time, surprising them both.

"You already have but fine... whatever. But I'm not going to die for people who may be dead already."

Markus let out a low growling sound, but Justin was the one who spoke up. "They may mean nothing to you, but I'd never leave Sam here. Ever. I know she'll make it; she's got Kes and Bradly with her... I'd give you up any day for even one of their group."

The two glared at each other for a long moment... Then a second explosion rang out. It was a bit farther away than the last one, but it was clearly coming from Downtown Chicago.

"Oh hell..." Lauren's eyes locked on the sky and Markus fallowed her gaze as several military helicopters flew over them, headed for down town.


	3. The Dead Escape

"This way." Bradly said, turning left down a new hallway. The path behind was filled with Them and even farther past that was a wreck of lockers blocking the path out of the school. They had one more option: Some how, they had to make it through the science wing and use the entrance to the gym from there. If that was blocked... No one wanted to think about it.

Bradly turned and looked back to make sure Sam and Kes cleared the corner and to see where the hoard that was following them was. Sam turned the corner, followed soon after by Kes. The hoard was a bit behind them, but Bradly knew if they wasted to much time they would be on them. It was so much worse than any movie he'd seen.

In the movies, the good guys always got away. There was always that silent certainty that everything would be ok in the end. The man people would live and move on, maybe even get society started up again, but this...? Blood was everywhere and almost everyone he knew was probably dead already. He'd seen his best friend Rick in the lunchroom... Rick had tried to bite him... The movies never really covered that part.

"Come on." Sam said, pulling Bradly's arm to get him moving again. The taller boy shook his head and started running again. The science wing wasn't very large, but it was filled with obstacles.

Two classrooms ahead, three of Them stumbled into the hallway. He didn't hesitate... Even when he noticed that the one on the right was Mrs. Hertz who had done her best to help him through science class when he'd been about to fail last year. Even when he saw that the girl on the left was Jenny who had a crush on Rick and was the most timid girl he'd ever met. They were threats now... two things standing between his life, Sam and Kes's lives, and survival. Blood splattered all over him and he felt his heart wrench with the horror of what he'd done. His vision blurred and tears washed clear paths in the blood on his face.

If this was what it would mean to survive, killing without even hesitating? Was survival even worth it?

Bradly looked up at some sound or another and saw Sam heaving into a trash can. Why bother to use a can? It's not like there wasn't worse already filling the hall... She looked up and Bradly saw what was wrong.

Without a word, Kes walked over to the girl and plucked the eyeball out of Sam's hair. She couldn't do much more than that for now. It would take a shower to get the blood and other fluids out.

"They're getting close." Kestryle's voice was completely normal and Bradly bristled at the sound. Didn't she feel anything? Lauren was right, the girl was just two damned cold.

He opened his mouth to speak, but a glare from the girl's strange purple eyes silenced him and gave him back his resolve. There was no way in hell he was going to leave Sam alone with that girl. Sam was sweet and gentile, and Kestryle put survival first. He wouldn't leave it past the girl to leave Sam behind when she stopped being useful.

Even as he watched, Kes took Sam's back pack, her only means of defense. Bradly took one step forward, but Kes was already handing the girl a broom handle made of solid wood and hefting the second heavy back pack on to her own shoulders. He wondered if she could keep up with such weight, but any protest he might have made vanished when Kes looked back at them and twitched her head, motioning for him to move.

He nodded, looking back long enough to see that the hoard was now less than ten feet away. Sam still looked sick, but she moved on at Kes' urging. They started to run again and Bradly took the back this time partly because Kes seemed to have a plan and partly because he had to make sure Sam kept going. They were starting to put more distance between themselves and the hoard. So far the halls were empty, though he didn't really know why. This wing had a few classes going on when the attack started, right?

As Kes lead them past several open doors Bradly dismissed his worry. No, there couldn't have been any classes going on at the moment or they would have seen someone by now. Well, someone other than the group at their backs. They were probably the only group in the hall.

He hadn't known just how wrong he'd been until it was to late. As they turned the corner to the second gym doors they found Them. Dozens, at least twice the size of the group behind them. Bradly almost ran into Sam who's eyes had grown wide with fear. For a moment he thought the girl would throw up again, but she held it in. Silently, Kes turned and pointed to the class room behind them. Bradly nodded and lead Sam away from the hoard. Kes closed the door once everyone was inside and Bradly was amazed at how quietly she managed it. Most of the time the doors slammed no mater what people did to keep them quiet.

"What do we do now?" Sam asked, clutching the broom handle with white knuckled hands.

"I'm thinking about that." Kes said, looking out the window. They were on the second floor, so if needed they could jump out the window with relative safety. But someone might hurt their ankle. If there was a way to draw the group away from the doors...

"Well think faster." Bradly snapped softly. He looked around the room for a better weapon than his small metal pole but found nothing. Kes, for reasons he didn't understand, got two texts books from the teacher's desk and offered one to him.

"The hell's this for?" He glared at the 12th grade science text book like it might bite him.

"It's our way out." Bradly scoffed at the idea but Kes continued. "I think they are drawn by sound. If I'm right, we just need to throw this down the hall way to draw them off."

"Why didn't you just throw one of your books before?" Anger flared in his chest again. If she was right about this her damned books could have kept the group from getting split up. They could already have been out of the hell hole the school had become.

"These books are to valuable." She said simply, waving the text book for him to take.

"Valuable?" He demanded harshly. "Our lives are valuable! We could have died!"

"Keep your voice down." Kes hissed. "And we were not in danger that I could have prevented with a book. Now are you going to throw the book or not? You're the football player here. You can throw it farthest and give us our best chance."

Bradly hesitated then snagged the book and walked to the door. A quick look out showed that the large hoard was still in place but the small 30-man hoard was only a few yards away from the door. If he was going to do this he had to do it fast.

"I've got the door, so just throw it and get back in here." Kes glared at him and Bradly nodded and took a deep breath. He only had one shot at this and if he screwed up... Well, he just wouldn't screw up. He had to get Sam out of here after all.

He slipped silently out the door and prayed Kes was right about the zombies being blind. One deep breath later and nothing had changed. No zombies had seen him and rushed for him. As relief crashed over him, he pulled his arm back and let the text book fly. It was heavier than he was use to, and the shape was clearly not meant for throwing, but he got the book at least 20 yards away. As the book fell it made a loud 'thud' that seemed to echo in the halls. As one, all of the zombies froze then slowly turned to the sound. Bradly froze in fear as the creatures moved and shuffled past him. When Kes grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the room he almost screamed.

While he calmed his racing heart,Kes looked into the hall, waiting until the group was far enough away that she felt fairly safe moving.

At her signal, Sam grabbed the second textbook but Kes just shook her head and grabbed the book herself. If it came to a fight, Sam would need the weapon, and Bradly didn't have a spare hand for the book. If they needed the book, Kes would have time to give it to Bradly. If not, and there wasn't time to use the book... well, at least two of them had weapons.

Bradly hefted his pipe and took the lead this time. It took almost all of his willpower not to look at the hoard a few scant yards away. He managed it though, and soon was at the gym doors. He had no idea what was waiting for him past those two doors, but he had come to far to die now. When the girls were with him, he opened the door and slipped inside. They were on the second floor of the gym, looking down at the basketball courts where a few of them milled around. On his level though, two zombies were making their way surprisingly quickly towards the doors. Had they heard the book sound too? He motioned for the girls to hurry before the two caught up with them. From there it was a quick run down the stairs, which surprisingly were empty, and onto the basketball courts.

There were so many more than Bradly had first thought... but it would be ok... After all, stealth had been working for them so far. Kes and Sam went ahead of him this time, making a line for the doors at the far end of the large room. They were so close... Freedom only yards away... Someone ran into the room, throwing the door to the lady's locker room open with a loud crash. Once more, the Zombies froze and started shuffling toward the sound, but Sam was paralyzed with fear. She couldn't get out of the way in time...

One of the undead walked into her and it paused, then it's arms wrapped around her. Sam screamed, even as the fourth person began to scream as the creatures got to her. Bradly swung his pipe and bashed the zombie's head in, then pulled Sam away as the body fell. She was still crying loudly, her broom handle dropped and forgotten on the floor.

"We have to move!" Kes urged, holding one of the back packs like a shield again and was shoving the undead over.

"The doors!" Bradly turned and saw the last thing he'd wanted to see.

"The undead outside are swarming them. They'll be in soon." Kes said softly, a tone of fatality in her voice.

"The boys locker room. We can block ourselves in."

Kes hesitated but couldn't see a better option at the moment. "Right." She turned and ran to the door with an orange basketball on it. On the ball the letters 'Boys' was written. She opened the door and once Bradly, caring a still crying Sam, was in she closed the door and locked the bolt on it. Not that it would stop Them for long, but she'd take anything that would give them an advantage right now. "What now?"

Bradly shook his head and Sam hiccuped softly, her sobs much quieter now.

Kes looked around for anything of use as the first thumps and scrapes sounded against the door. There was a resounding... nothing. Nothing they could move against the door. Nothing they could use as a weapon, not even an open locker to scavenge from...

"Well, it was a good run." Bradly said sighing.

"Are you bitten?" Kes asked.

Bradly shook his head. "Why would I be bitten? They never touched me."

"Not you. Her. Sam, are you bitten?" Kes's eyes trailed over her, but there was to much blood to tell.

"N-no." Sam said, shaking her head firmly. "I'm not bitten."

Kes hesitated, unsure. The girl could be lying... And if so they'd just locked themselves in with a time bomb.

As if Sam knew what she was thinking, she pulled the collar of her shirt down to show that she wasn't so much as scratched and Kes sighed in relief. "Good."

"So what if she'd not bit? We're going to die in here anyway!" Bradly snapped, almost growling in frustration.

Kes looked up, smiling in a way that had nothing to do with joy or comfort. "Well, there is one thing. But it's a gamble."

Sam sniffled and looked at Bradly. Bradly sighed. "Well, I guess there's not much choice now is there?"

Kes nodded, though she wondered if any of them would get out of this alive.

Five minuets later, Bradly stood in position in front of the door. Sam stood behind him and Kes had her hand on the door lock, ready to open the door.

"Ready?" She asked softly. When Bradly nodded, she flipped the lock and the door burst open. There were more undead than before, probably drawn in by the sounds from before. Bradly took one step back and chucked the science text book to the small opening of the gym he could see. Half of the hoard turned, though it was the back half. The rest advanced into the room.

Kes paled and swung her back pack. Bradly backed away, pushing Sam back as well. "Get another book!" Bradly urged.

"It's to late." Kes swung again, knocking two of the undead to the floor.

Bradly grit his teeth. They were not going to die here. Not like this. "Kes, grab Sam. When I say run, make a break for the doors and get out of here."

"We are not leaving you behind." She said simply, swinging her bag again. The ones she had knocked down already began to rise again or crawl towards her on the floor.

"I'm not giving you a choice." Bradly rushed forward, swinging his pipe at every head that came into view. "Go damn you! GO!"

"NO!" Sam cried, but it was to late. One of the undead sank it's teeth into Bradly's arm and he howled in pain. Even then he didn't stop attacking, swinging his pipe around to clear the path for the two girls.

"You know..." Bradly said, pain filling his voice as he worked to clear a path. "I didn't care if you lived or died Kes... I just wanted to save Sam."

"I know..." Her voice was soft yet clear even past Sam's sobbing. "I'm so cold. You thought I'd let you all die. I'd put myself first."

"Yeah. I was wrong." Bradly said, laughing bitterly. "Not that it did me much good."

Kes slammed her bag into one of the approaching Hoard when it slipped past Bradly. "I wanted to save you all.."

"I know, Kes. You're not so bad. For a nerd."

Kestryle rushed forward to deny the zombie that had bitten into Bradly a second taste of flesh. It fell to the ground where it lay still. "I have one question for you before you go." Kestryle said, panting with effort and pent up emotion. "Why were you with Lauren? You're a good guy..."

"I wanted to change her." Bradly said softly, the fight draining from his body along with his blood. "She's always been so sad.. so angry. Your brother couldn't see it. She acts like everything's fine but... I could see her heart break."

Kestryle nodded and grabbed Sam's hand when the girl started to back away. "We have to go Sam. Don't waist what he gave us."

Bradly nodded, eying the remainder of the hoard, only a few left of the group they'd been fighting, but their voices had drawn the second group, the one that had chased the book, back to them.

"Bradly?"

"Yeah, Kes?" He asked, panting and struggling to remain standing.

"You're not so bad for a dumb jock. I don't hate you anymore. I did before... I was wrong about you."

"Shut up and go. I'll draw them towards me. Sorry I can't protect you the rest of the way."

Sam started to sob fresh tears and Kestryle nodded, dragging her along. Behind her, Kestryle heard Bradly laugh, then start screaming. "Alright you undead fuckers! Come and get me!"

Kes refused to look back as she pulled Sam out the doors. There weren't many of Them left out here, and dodging them as easy enough. They had made it only a few hundred feet when the sound of a loud explosion filled the air. Stunned, the two girls looked up as if the source of the explosion would be clearly visible in the air. No such luck. And a few moments later came a second explosion, fallowed soon after by military helicopters flying towards Chicago.

The sight of the helicopters broke through Kestryle's stunned brain. They had to get out of here, see what was going on in Chicago, and get to the lake.

She ran, hauling Sam and her books along with her. Only a few of Them crossed her path, but she dodged them with ease. When there was only one of the Undead, it was very easy to dodge them or runaway. Soon the parking lot came into view, but her brother's car was wrecked.

It didn't take long to spot the new car Markus had gotten and she jumped into the back of the truck, pulling Sam up with her. The two back packs fell to the bed and she relaxed finally. Carrying that much hadn't been easy especially when running for your life.

"Where's Bradly?" Markus asked, looking over the girls to make sure they were safe.

Sam started to sob, even as Justin held her, tears of his own in his eyes; he was just glad to have her back.

"He didn't make it, Markus. He died so me and Sam could get out safely."

"Bullshit!" Lauren yelled from the back seat. "He was stronger than both of you combined. You tripped him, or... or tricked him. He wasn't smart so I bet you tricked him to save your own asses.

"Lauren!" Markus turned to stare at his girlfriend in shock, but Sam spoke before he could utter another sound.

"You really think he's like that? He was a good person, he saved our lives, and all you can say is he was so stupid he got himself killed? You should be ashamed." Sam wiped her hand across her eyes, trying to dry her tears but ended up smearing her cheeks with blood. Justin pulled her hands away from her face and held them, glaring at the girl who was still in the truck cab.

"We need to go now. They won't stay away long and I'd rather not count on more explosions to keep them away from us." Kes said, trying to be gentile and failing.

"Yeah... Lauren, we'll talk about this later." Markus said, getting into the truck cab. He looked back once more to see Justin comforting Sam and Kes staring at the sky. As he pulled out of the school he was greeted with the sight of his city in chaos.


End file.
